Author Archives: The Cooking spoon

My Grandmothers Meat Balls

There is something very comforting about meat balls. I always have a batch in the freezer for When I don’t know what to make for dinner. This recipe is how my grandmother used to make them. They have to simmer for quit a while, but then you end up with really juicy meat balls. The great thing about meat balls is that they are so versatile. You can put them in sandwiches, serve them over pasta with tomato sauce, have them as a snack. Or even slices them and top them with melted cheese, put them in a bun and pretend it’s a hamburger. This is a pretty classic recipe, but I also like making variations like Italian meatballs with parmesan cheese, or Indonesian with cumin, coriander and sate sauce. The possibilities are endless. I hope you enjoy these.

I recommend you use half pork half beef for the meat balls to get a juicier result. Only beef could end up a bit dry. If you do want to use only beef I suggest you add an additional tablespoon of olive oil to the ground beef.

Serves 4.

Ingredients;

1/2 lb. ground beef

1/2 lb. ground pork

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 onion, peeled and diced very small

1 clove of garlic, peeled and grated or chopped very fine

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. coriander

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. black pepper, or a few twists of the mill

1/4 tsp. marjoram

1/8 tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp. cardamom

1/8 tsp. allspice

a pinch of cayenne

1 egg, beaten

1/4 C. dried breadcrumbs*

1/2 tbsp flour

1 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tbsp honey

a few splashed of Worcestershire sauce

1 C. beef stock (from a cube if you like)

Method;

Start of by gently cooking the onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil over low heat until just beginning to brown. Remove from heat and let cool. In a bowl mix all the remaining ingredients and shape into about 8 meat balls.

Heat a frying pan with the remaining oil and brown the meat balls all over, now lower the heat and sprinkle the meat balls with the flour, add the tomato paste, 1 tbsp honey, the Worcestershire sauce and a cup of beef stock. Stir everything and set the heat to very low. Partially cover with a lid and let simmer for an hour.

Bounty Bars

6 Replies

If you like Bounty Bars you really need to give these a try. They are actually good for you. Coconut fat and coconut meat have many health benefits. So if you want to indulge and actually feel better afterwards. Bounty bars are the answer.

Coconut speeds up metabolism, providing an immediate source of energy with fewer calories than other fats. It kills hunger for several hours too.

Improves Heart health by providing healthy short chain and medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) that are essential to good health. and help to lower the risk of atherosclerosis and protect against heart disease. Coconut fat also contains a large amount of Lauric acid

Coconut supplies an impressive 61% dietary fiber! Foods contain two types of carbohydrates – digestible and non-digestible. Digestible carbohydrates (soluble fiber) consists of starch and sugar and promote calories. Non-digestible carbohydrates (insoluble fiber) contains NO calories. Since the body cannot digest the dietary fiber in coconut, no calories are derived from it and it has no effect on blood sugar.

Low Glycemic Index (GI) Coconut fiber slows down the release of glucose. Coconut Nectar and Sugar have a very low GI of only 35 (compared to honey with a GI of 55-83, and sugar with a GI of 65-100.)

Reduces Sweet Cravings and improves insulin secretion and utilization of blood glucose. The healthy fat in coconut slows down any rise in blood sugar and helps to reduce hypoglycemic cravings.

Improves Digestion

Coconut is utilized by the body to actually produce energy, rather than to store it as body fat.

In addition coconut has antibacterial, antiviral, anti fungal, and anti parasitic healing properties. Coconut helps to aid and support overall Immune System functions.

Ingredients;

1/2 C. Coconut cream. The top layer of a can of full fat coconut milk. Use the water to cook rice or in a smoothie.
1 C. shredded dried coconut meat
1 tbsp. Light Agave syrup
1/4 tsp. vanilla
3 oz. 75% dark organic chocolate. I use Vivani which is sweetened with coconut blossom nectar.

Instructions:

Mix all the ingredient in a bowl except the dark chocolate, shape into little bars and put them on a tray covered with parchment paper. Put them in the freezer for about half an hour.

Meanwhile melt the chocolate slowly in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until melted. Leave to cool down. Take the bars out of the freezer and dip in the melted chocolate with the help of two forks, one in each hand. Put them back on the parchment paper to set. Keep in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Myra

Rye-Spelt bread

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Being a bread lover, I’m always looking for new ways with bread that don’t include wheat. Not that I am gluten intolerant but I know that the wheat we consume today is a far cry from the original grain from 50 years ago. It has been terribly manipulated and now we are stuck with a grain that does more harm than good. It inflames our bodies, causes our guts to leak, and it triggers autoimmune diseases just to mention a few.

Nothing beats a home made bread and this way I know exactly what ingredients are used. It takes fairly little time once you get the hang of it, and I don’t add as much salt. If you do like the salty flavour you could add some nutritional yeast to the recipe together with the salt I use, which is usually half the amount you are used to. Do give it a try, it is so much healthier than store-bought bread.

INGREDIENTS:

2 C. Whole grain Rye flour
2 1/2 C. plain Spelt flour
2 tsp. instant yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 C. luke warm water
1/2 C. leftover black coffee, at room temperature. Either regular or decaf.*
1 tbsp. cocoa powder*
1 tbsp. coconut sugar
1 egg beaten for glazing (omit for vegans)
1 tbsp. oat flakes for decorating
optional: 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast, add with flour.
Add ins: 1 tbsp. whole flax seed, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a mixer fitted with the hook attachment, mix the two flours, the yeast, the cocoa, the sugar, the water and the coffee. Add seeds if you want. Mix on low for about five minutes, then add the salt. Now knead on medium speed for about ten minutes. Remove the dough, form a ball and put it to rest in an other bowl sprayed with some oil and cover with a damp cloth or some cling film. Leave to rise for two hours.

Now take the dough out of the bowl and spray the kneading surface with cooking spray. Knead briefly until it has a smooth even consistency (this will only take several turns of the dough to accomplish). Place in greased loaf pan, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle over the oats. Let rise in warm place until doubled. Bake at 375ºF for 25-30 minutes. To check if it’s ready tap on the bread, it should sound hollow.

*The coffee and cocoa may sound odd in a bread recipe, you don’t really taste either one much, it just gives it a nice color and the cocoa does give it a velvety texture. You’ll see.

Pot Roast

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This may come across as a bit of a “winter like” recipe, but I assure you that you can eat this all year round. The weather outside is awful at the moment from where I am writing, 32° F with rain, snow and some hail in between. But like I said, you can eat this all year round. It’s not at all heavy and depending on what you serve it with you can make this either a winter feast served with mashed potatoes, cauliflower, brussels sprout or baked potatoes. Or a Summer dinner, serving it with a cold beet root salad and some crusty french bread. Or some grilled summer vegetables. Maybe even Corn on the cob.

I start off by searing the beef in a pan and then transferring it to the slow cooker. So you don’t have to hang around in the kitchen for long. You can even get everything ready the evening before by searing the beef and putting all the ingredients in the slow cooker. Leave overnight in the refrigerator and then before you go to work the next morning, put it in the slow cooker, set it on LOW and when you come home in the evening dinner will be ready. When you leave it to cook all day make sure you add enough liquid so it doesn’t dry out.

Ingredients;

2 tbsp. Olive oil

2 lbs. Beef chuck, cut into two thick slices

4 medium carrot, peel and cut into fairly large chunks

2 cellery sticks, washed and cut into thick slices

2 to 3 medium onions, peeled and quartered

2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled and bash with the side of your knife

4 or 5 sprigs of fresh thyme (2 tsp. dry)

2 sprigs of rosemary (1 tsp. dry)

2 tbsp. tomato puree

1 1/2 tbsp Apple butter or coconut sugar

1 glass of dry white wine

1 C. beef stock

3 Bay leaves

1/2 a cinnamon stick

a good grating of nutmeg or 1/2 tsp. powder

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/.2 tsp. All spice

Season the beef liberally with salt and freshly ground pepper. Then heat a pan on high, add the olive oil and brown the meat on both sides until it is dark brown and has a good caramelized color. This is very important for the flavor. Transfer to the slow cooker. Turn the heat of your frying pan to medium and add all the vegetables and the garlic cloves. Cook for about three minutes until they just begin to color and add to the beef.

Now put the tomato puree and the spices in the frying pan and the apple butter or coconut sugar and slowly add the white wine. Swirl around and pour over the beef.

Add the bay leafs, thyme and rosemary to the beef and pour in the beef stock to just cover the meat.

Cook on high for about 5 hours, or on low for about 7 or 8 hours. Check the liquid towards the end and add some beef stock if necessary.

Serve with mashed potatoes, rice or noodles, and a salad or vegetables.

Enjoy!